Regressions and Advances (Was: Re: Walzer on the Left)

Miles Jackson cqmv at pdx.edu
Fri Mar 15 12:30:57 PST 2002


On Fri, 15 Mar 2002, Dennis Perrin wrote:


> Well, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, to cite two countries where porn is
> illegal, have rather poor histories when it comes to the treatment of women.
> This causal link between porn and sexual violence has never really been
> proven; and while you will find porn mags and videos in the possession of a
> rapist or wife-beater, you'll also find drugs and alcohol, among other items
> (the history of the rapist/beater is also a factor). Fact is, the vast
> majority of porn consumers do not rape or beat women, and porn itself does
> not push a man who is not violent or abusive into becoming so.
>
> DP

Fortunately, there's actual scientific research on this. Various researchers have conducted experiments that randomly assign men to different types of film and measure attitudes and behavior towards women. The basic finding is this: exposure to "aggressive" erotic materials provoke more negative attitudes and more aggression against women. Exposure to sexually explicit films with no aggressive content does not provoke more negative attitudes and aggression against women, compared to groups exposed to films without sexual content.

So does any porn provoke violence against women? It's not as simple as the Dworkinites assume. On the other hand, appreciate the methodological rigor of the studies here: you can't say "most men who consume porn don't rape", or porn consumption and aggression against women are both symptoms of a misogynist personality. The data are as clear as social science evidence gets: sexually explicit films with aggressive content do provoke violence against women, to at least some degree.

Miles



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